More than 500 to be welcomed into full communion in 2023

The Easter Vigil at St. Ignatius in Hickory will hold special meaning for Sam and Barbara Hood this year. Along with their daughter Ryan Madsen, they will be welcomed into the Catholic Church.

A capacity crowd from as far as Hagerstown attend Rite of Election services February 26, 2023, at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

“Our daughter, she really inspired us,” said Barbara Hood. Madsen completed RCIA at her home parish in Nashville, Tenn., and got permission to be baptized with her parents.

When the couple, who sent their children to Catholic schools, found themselves thinking about deepening their faith, they felt called to the Catholic Church.

“We wanted to be closer to the spirit and our faith,” said Sam Hood.

The Hoods were among those who packed the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen Feb. 26 for the Rite of Election and the Call to Continuing Conversion for those who will enter the Catholic Church this Easter.

Candidates are those who were baptized, but who have not received one or more of the sacraments of initiation. Catechumens are those who have not been baptized.

This year, 178 catechumens and 323 candidates from 58 parishes registered for the 90-minute bilingual liturgy.

“Even in these challenging times, the spirit of God is at work in our midst,” Archbishop William E. Lori said in his homily.

Archbishop William E. Lori signs one of many parish books with the names of those seeking acceptance into the Catholic Church during
Rite of Election services February 26, 2023, at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

“I welcome you with all my heart,” he said to the catechumens. “Thank you for opening your hearts to Christ, to the Gospel, to the church.”

Archbishop Lori then addressed the candidates: “You are drawing nearer to the heart of the Church. How welcome you are in this great assembly.”

Archbishop Lori noted that the gift of faith and the call to be Catholic Christians are gifts of a loving God.

“God’s election and your acceptance of this call is life-changing,” he said. “You will be swimming in the waters of new birth, the water that changes everything.”

Haylee Brown, at age 8, is among this year’s youngest catechumens. She arrived at the cathedral early and with her grandmother Tammy Brown lit candles at several side altars.

Tammy Brown, a member of the pastorate of Our Lady of Hope in Dundalk and St. Luke in Edgemere, said she is honored to be her granddaughter’s sponsor. “Out of everybody in the family, it was the most important for me for Haylee to be Catholic,” she said.

Angelique Bourke, center, and her brother Jacob, green jacket, parishioners of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Crofton, are two of the youngest members seeking acceptance into the Catholic Church during Rite of Election services February 26, 2023, at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

Griselda Martinez was part of the largest parish contingent. She came to Annapolis six years ago and got involved with St. Mary’s Spanish-language program in Annapolis. On Sunday, the candidate took another step toward a closer bond with the parish. “I want to continue my faith,” she said, through her sponsor and friend, Susana Cruz, a 30-year St. Mary’s parishioner.

The Annapolis parish has almost 50 people joining the church this year, a normal number, according to Elmer Guevara, of the parish’s Hispanic ministry.

Lorenzo Gregori sat with Ss. Philip and James’ catechumens and candidates. “I wanted to get deeper into my religion and learn about my faith,” said the candidate, an electrical engineering student at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

He sat beside catechumen Amira Rady, a Hopkins public health student. “The church happened to be there at the right time for me,” she said. “The center of faith is love and that’s what brought me to it.”

She was accompanied by Elisa Leiva, a student at the Maryland Institute College of Art and Corpus Christi parishioner. “It’s been exciting to be her godmother,” Leiva said.

During the Rite of Election, catechumens and their sponsors were called by name into the sanctuary to stand before Archbishop Lori, and Auxiliary Bishops Adam J. Parker and Bruce A. Lewandowski, C.Ss.R. Parish representatives presented the Book of the Elect which the archbishop signed before affirming the catechumens for initiation into the church. Catechumens typically receive all the sacraments of initiation – baptism, confirmation and Eucharist – at the Easter Vigil.

Then during the Call to Continuing Conversion, candidates, who have previously been baptized, filled the sanctuary to overflowing as they stood before the bishops to be affirmed for full communion.

After they were applauded and blessed, Brenda Galbraith returned to her pew with a bright smile. “We did it,” said the candidate from St. Francis de Sales in Abingdon.

To view more photographs of the event, click below. Additional photos also are available at https://catholicreview.smugmug.com/Rite-of-Election/